An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.

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Known Hazards

Although the timber is widely used in the wood industry, skin irritations are rare. However, there have been various reports as follows:-
Splinters of the wood can cause wounds that become increasingly inflamed and resist healing[

Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.

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A fast-growing tree. Annual growth rates of 2.5 metres in height have been reported for the first 10 years after planting, whilst 4 year old trees in in Ghana have reached a height of 14 metres with boles 22cm in diameter[

An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.

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The wood is quite variable and three types of commercial timber are recognised from this tree:- white or straw coloured; black, olive-grey to blackish-brown; and multicoloured, with dark and light streaks. The heartwood is not clearly demarcated from the 12 - 15cm wide band of sapwood. After exposure to the air, it darkens slightly, verging on a tanned appearance, and resembling a light oak. The wood is light to medium weight; soft to moderately hard; somewhat weak; not durable, being liable to attacks by pin-hole borers, powder-post beetles, longhorn beetles, termites and marine borers. It air dries rapidly with little degrade; rates of shrinkage are moderate; once dry, the wood is stable in service. The wood is easy to saw and work with both hand and machine tools; the blunting effect on cutting edges is slight; it finishes well, but the use of a filler is necessary; it holds nails and screws well, but has some tendency to splitting; gluing is satisfactory; it accepts paints and varnish well. The wood can be made into good-quality veneer by slicing as well as rotary peeling. The steam-bending properties are poor. The wood is valued for interior joinery, door posts and panels, mouldings, furniture, office-fittings, crates, matches, and particularly for veneer and plywood. It is suitable for light construction, light flooring, ship building, interior trim, vehicle bodies, sporting goods, toys, novelties, musical instruments, food containers, vats, turnery, hardboard, particle board and pulpwood. It is used locally for temporary house construction, planks, roof shingles, canoes, paddles, coffins, boxes and domestic utensils[

An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.

].In the nursery, seedlings are usually slightly shaded until they are 2 months old. Inoculation with endomycorrhizae enhances the growth of seedlings by about 25% after 10 weeks. Seedlings are transplanted into nursery beds after 6 - 7 weeks when 5 - 8cm tall, spacing them 20cm × 50cm apart. This should be done carefully to avoid damage to the taproot. They often remain in the nursery for at least one year until they have reached a height of about 2 metres[

An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.

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There is no difficulty in grafting the species, and this has been practised in Congo since 1970. Here the optimum period was found to be mid-August to mid-September before the rise of sap and recurrence of the rains, with scions grafted at once, or transported under refrigeration[